THERE’S A CATCH..
Sanctions if ministers give UK firms a competitive edge Layers of red tape to cost business millions
BORIS Johnson’s triumphant Brexit deal turned out to be full of holes as details of the small print emerged yesterday.
An “independent” Britain will still face punitive sanctions from Brussels if it steps out of line on managing its own economy.
And businesses trading with Europe face costly extra red tape, customs checks and new formalities.
The Prime Minister boasted his £668billion Christmas Eve deal “takes back control” of our laws, borders and fisheries – with no tariffs or quotas on exports to the EU.
He promised a “new relationship”, free of European single market rules on trade and with no political control from Brussels.
But when the 1,246-page document was released, it revealed the UK will have to toe the Brussels line or face penalties on businesses and exporters.
Marley Morris, of the IPPR think tank, said: “We can expect slower recovery from the coronavirus recession and higher prices in the shops.”
Mr Johnson’s claim that he had “got Brexit done” was also exposed as a sham – when the documents revealed that the entire deal could be up for renegotiation in four years.
The PM was accused by fishermen of “losing his bottle” in negotiations and “sacrificing” the UK fishing industry because it accounts for just 0.1 per cent of the economy. Announcing the deal after almost 11 months of wrangling the PM said: “We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation. In a way that is complete and unfettered.”
He admitted that “the devil is in the detail” but insisted: “I am sure this can survive the most ruthless scrutiny.” In fact, if a future government tries to diverge “significantly” from EU standards on state aid to industry, it could be hauled before Partnership Councils of judges and trade experts.
Disputes could include any relaxing of employment rights or environmental standards and, if not settled, would be likely to see import tariffs imposed on any UK business deemed to have been given a competitive edge.
That threat comes on top of increased bureaucracy and paperwork now facing all trade across the Channel – expected to add four per cent to firms’ administration costs.
Britain had argued for trade to be as “frictionless” as possible, but the deal means significant non-tariff barriers. Traders are busy working out the likely costs, amid fears jobs will be lost.
The Partnership Councils will be permanently on watch, requiring a mirroring of the current bureaucracy for ministers and officials to keep in constant contact with Brussels.
A spokesman for No10 said: “All
trade dispute mechanisms are fully reciprocal. They cannot be used simply because one side does not like something the other side has done.”
Another major win claimed by Mr Johnson was in freeing the UK from the European Court of Justice.
The court is seen by lawyers as the last resort in holding the Government to account on human rights abuses. But under the deal a new body will be created which allows anybody to “lodge complaints” about the way they feel treated by the Government.
The Independent Monitoring Authority will have no authority over the British courts but will tie up officials and lawyers in expensive cases.
Clement Beaune, France’s Minister for European Affairs, claimed the deal means there is “no country in the world that will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK”.
The end of free movement of financial services – worth £126bn to the British economy – means City firms will have to comply with varying rules across different EU states. Banks must wait up to six months before they know whether they will be able to sell services to EU firms. Many are now braced for job losses – with uncertainty over the fallout lasting into 2021.
Details of the deal are being scrutinised by a “star chamber” of lawyers set up by the hardline Tory European Research Group of MPs, whose members are threatening a rebellion when the Commons debates the agreement on Wednesday.
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said the PM’s move to allow the Commons and the Lords just one day to debate it is “clearly not enough”.
He warned that the detail required close attention because “the EU has a habit of inserting little quirks”.
Labour leader Keir Starmer faces his own revolt from Remain MPs, and threats of frontbench resignations over his demand they support what he called a “thin” deal – but which he insisted was better than no deal.
He aims to persuade them it has so many holes that a Labour government could use it to improve rights at work and laws on climate change.